Something Precious
by Chase Ravencroft Tilton
Summary: Beneath the carefree nature, Dr. Tyler Chase has been missing something. In the midst of chaos, Dr. Derek Stiles rekindles Tyler's faith in life. When Tyler's emotions finally get the better of him, what will happen to their friendship? Tyler x Derek


_**AN:**_

Hello folks! Chase here. If you know me from my Pendragon fic and I dragged you here to read this one, sorry!

If not, then hey people. Good to meetcha. ^_^

This is my first TC fic. It's the first of many that I've got planned. (Yay!) However, it's a cheesy bit of fluff that I would normally scoff at. ^^" Yeah, it's cliche, but it made me smile. And c'mon, how can no one else see that Tyler and Derek are SO hitting it up?

Disclaimer: I don't own TC. My sis owns the copy that I am about to beat (fucking Savato....). I own Derek Stiles' soul. My sis owns Vicky's soul. Nuff said. ^_^

Anywhos, onwards and enjoy. ^_^

* * *

_Something Precious_

"Doctor Stiles, the Deftera have combined! Use the drain to siphon the fluids!" Nurse Angie Thompson cried out, turning to check the patient's vitals.

Derek reached for the small vacuum tube, taking away as much of the excess fluid as he could before the GUILT separated once more. He took a deep breath as he set down the tube, reaching for the syringe to stabilize his young patient.

On the table before him lay little Amy Chase, the younger sister of Dr. Tyler Chase, one of Derek's best friends from medical school. In his hands rested her life.

"_No nine year old child should ever have to suffer through this…" _Derek thought to himself, shaking his head. Whatever monster had created this disease deserved the harshest punishment possible for the pain that was inflicted on the infected.

Nearby, Tyler watched with tear-filled eyes, steeling his resolve and forcing himself to stay in the room. Amy needed him to be strong for her, needed him to place his faith in Derek's abilities. It was hard, but he stayed, praying to whatever god existed to spare her life. Tyler needed her to live. His little sister was all he had left. She was more like a daughter than a sister some days, being sixteen years his junior. He had raised her since their parents' deaths, tried his best to care for her – even re-dedicated his life to medicine to save her from the mysterious illness that threatened her for the past five years.

He worked hard to earn his place in Cadeceus, had her admitted there two years prior to ensure her survival. He wanted her to have a happy, long life.

And now she lay on an operating table, with Dr. Derek Stiles as her last chance. Tyler was angered with himself that he was not skilled enough to save her himself. He had placed his faith in his old friend, despite making a push for euthanizing Amy. The "Death Doctor" as he was known in whispers wanted to end her suffering.

But Derek had argued against it, pushed for one last chance to save her life. Tyler had never been able to stand up to the intensity in his eyes, not even in med school.

Derek Stiles, the once-hopeless case…he had become someone much changed from his youth, Tyler noted. The seldom serious, often clumsy Derek was now a mature, skilled doctor. While he still maintained a certain boyish immaturity, Derek had shed his shell.

And Tyler Chase had not noticed until the moment he went to beat the hell out of said doctor. But Derek had stood before him with fire in his eyes.

And that was the moment Tyler realized just how much he had missed in Derek's life in the last four years since medical school. Something new was there…something….

Derek reached for the laser, burning off several tumors that had appeared in the wake of the deftera's latest combination. He felt fatigue starting to set in, the length of the operation wearing him down. _"Focus, Derek! We have to save her…for Tyler." _

He had to show Tyler that death could be beaten. He had to prove to him that life was valuable, something to be treasured….something…

The two sets of deftera were wreaking havoc on Amy's respiratory system. Her vitals were at a passable level, but teetering on the edge of critical. One final drain, and one of the two sets was ready to excise. Derek quickly took up the scalpel, then reached for the forceps and removed the dead strain. As he placed the membrane over the hole left behind, the EKG began to beep madly.

"Doctor, vitals are critical! We need to stabilize and remove these tumors before they get worse!" Angie crossed the room swiftly to retrieve another vial of stabilizer.

Derek filled the syringe as Angie returned and injected it into Amy's lung tissue, quickly removing and re-filling it. "Hang in there, Amy! I'm not going to let you go!"

Tyler panicked, fear overtaking his normally cheerful face. "AMY!" he cried, having to be restrained by both Cybil and Sidney.

"I can't lose her! I won't lose her! I won't let Tyler down!" Derek practically snarled. He focused all of his energy on the girl before him. Suddenly, time slowed. In Derek's mind, time had near-frozen. He had activated the Healing Touch.

He quickly shifted priorities, gelling and securing the synthetic membrane, then lasering off the larger tumors. After injecting two more syringes full of stabilizing fluids, Derek grabbed the drain, and waited for the final deftera to combine.

"Now, Doctor!" Angie prompted.

Derek fought through the intense pain in his head as he drained away the last fluids of the GUILT strain, stabilizing the vitals as it settled. He excised it, covered the wound, and did one final chiral check. It came up clean, and he breathed a sigh of relief as the world around him came back to normal speed. Dizziness overtook him as he sutured the initial incision, sterilized it, and bandaged Amy.

Tyler had finally pushed aside his panic, unable to believe what he had just seen. "She's going to make it! I…I don't believe it…Derek, you did it!"

The brunette turned to face him, tired smile on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, only to feel a wave of nausea. He wavered on his feet, and Tyler rushed in to grab him.

"Easy there, dude. I gotcha. Guys, I'm gonna take him to the lounge – he needs rest." Tyler guided his fellow doctor out of the O.R., leaving the nurses to tend his sister.

* * *

Hours later, Derek was rested enough to leave for home safely. While it took a fair bit on convincing, he finally managed to get Leslie, Angie, and Sidney to let him go. He held his coat to his chest, walking down the now-empty corridor towards the main entrance, re-playing the surgery in his mind.

The sense of relief when the final wound was sutured was fresh in his mind. He could not remember the last time he had been so joyous over saving a patient.

The look in Tyler's eyes had been worth it, he thought to himself.

Shaking off further thoughts on the blonde, Derek walked towards the end of the hall, just about to turn the corner to the front desk.

"Derek! Wait!" Tyler called out from down the hall.

Derek stopped, hoping nothing had gone wrong. "Is everything okay?"

The blonde bit his lip. "Amy's fine, yeah. It's me…"

Concern furrowed Derek's brow. "What's wrong, Tyler?"

"I…I didn't thank you properly. For saving her."

"Tyler, you don't have to thank me for that. I save lives – it's what we all do here. You're a friend, I wasn't going to let you down." Derek lay a hand on his shoulder.

Tyler was quiet, not at all his usual rambunctious self. "She's all I have left, Derek. You…you gave me my faith in life again. That's something….something…"

He looked into Derek's eyes, pain and confliction mixing with joy and something deeper.

"Ty…you had that faith all along, you just needed something….um…something…" Derek's eyes widened as Tyler leaned closer to him, backing him into the wall.

"Precious." Tyler whispered. He leaned forward slowly, putting a hand on Derek's chest.

Derek could have sworn that his healing touch had activated on the whole room as Tyler leaned closer to him, closing the distance until finally, their lips touched.

His eyes fluttered shut, and the initial shock gave way to willing acceptance. Tyler's kiss was softer than one would expect, warm and sweet, the faint taste of strawberry on his lips. It was a soft, sensual kiss, somewhat shy and somewhat chaste.

Instinct kicked in, overriding Derek's near-imploding brain and making his arms wrap around Tyler's waist, hands gripping his lab coat tightly as he lightly returned the kiss.

Moments later, they broke apart for air, both men lightly gasping for breath.

Derek's eyes were slightly glazed over, shock still etched into his face. He looked into Tyler's eyes, and for a moment, the two were on the same wavelength.

Until the full implications of what he had done washed over Tyler, and his eyes went wide. "Oh shit…Derek, I…" he couldn't find the words. Touching his hand to his lips, he shook his head and turned away.

"Ty…I…" Derek willed his lethargic limbs to move, trying to reach for the blonde.

Like a bird taking flight, Tyler sped off down the hall in the direction he had come from.

Derek's hands finally moved, reaching out for him. It was too late – he was already gone.

Closing his eyes and leaning against the wall, Derek cursed his inability to react. His heart pounded. Tyler had kissed him. Tyler, the eternal playboy flirt, had kissed him. On the lips. And he was SOBER when it happened.

Derek touched his lips, remembering the acute feeling of sparks that had emerged when Tyler's brushed against them. He could still feel the gentle hand on his chest, still hear the soft gasps for breath, still feel the brush of his wild blonde hair against his neck.

It had been wonderful. And Derek, in his hesitation and inability to catch back up with reality, had let him walk away without any kind of explanation.

"_He was just happy about his sister. Probably still on an emotional roller coaster. He'll be back to normal tomorrow, and he'll forget it happened…" _

The thought saddened him. Deciding he needed food and sleep, Derek continued on to the door, walking out into the chilled autumn night.

* * *

The next afternoon, a fully rested Derek clocked in and picked up his charts, ready to begin his first rounds of the day.

"Good morning, Leslie." Derek cheerfully waved to Amy's personal nurse as she emerged from the recovery bay. "How's she doing?"

"Amy's doing well. Her vitals are strong, and she's already gaining her energy back. She should be just fine in no time!" the cheery nurse smiled broadly.

Derek couldn't help but smile at this. "I'm so glad we saved her…Tyler will be happy to here that she's just about back to normal."

Leslie frowned. "Speaking of – have you seen him today? He was supposed to work the early shift, but he never showed up, and he didn't call. His beeper seems to be off, too."

"He didn't show?" Derek had a sinking feeling in his gut that he and his hesitance had something to do with Tyler's sudden absence from Cadeceus.

Leslie shook her head. "Do you think he got sick? Maybe all the emotions got to him."

"Maybe…I'll check on him when I get off tonight." Derek finished his conversation with her, and went about his rounds.

It wasn't like Tyler to miss work. He may have been a flake and a prankster, but he took his job very seriously.

Pushing it out of mind, Derek settled into his shift, counting the hours till it was over.

* * *

Tyler lay on the couch in his boxers, half-eaten pizza before him on the coffee table.

"Why the hell did I do that? He's gonna hate me now…" he moaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. One slip could ruin his entire relationship with the man he had come to admire so greatly. In the emotional high of his sister's surgery, the feelings he had been fighting to contain since medical school came bursting forth. One moment of emotional weakness would kill him, and he was dreading facing Derek again.

The doorbell ringing drew his attention. Fumbling for his cell, he checked the time. "Who the hell is coming over at 10:00 at night?" he grumbled.

Scrambling up from the couch, he crossed the room and opened the door. "What is it - "

His complaint was cut short by the sight before him. Derek Stiles, looking like something straight out of GQ stood in the hallway, wearing a pair of black jeans and a black long-sleeved button down shirt, top buttons left open.

Tyler couldn't find the words for what he was feeling. He pinched himself to see if he was awake. Finding that he was, he resigned himself to trying to avoid staring too hard.

"Hey…can I come in?" Derek asked sheepishly.

The blonde forced his mouth to work. "Uh…yeah…come on in." he stepped aside.

Derek brushed past the blonde slowly, still nervous. "Missed you at work today. What happened? You sick?" he sat down on the couch, placing a few magazines on the table.

"I uh…well…" Tyler rubbed the back of his neck, struggling for words.

He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I was so emotionally fucked from the surgery, and almost losing her, then having her finally cured for good."

"Was that…was that all that it was?" Derek tried to look into his eyes.

Tyler said nothing, eyes lowered to the floor. "Yeah..."

Silence. Neither doctor could find any words.

Derek shifted on the couch. "I thought so…"

"I'm sorry, I had no business doing that. We can forget it, right man?"

"What if I don't want to forget?" Derek whispered in a defeated tone.

Tyler's head snapped in Derek's direction. "Excuse me?"

The brunette took a deep breath and forced himself to look him in the eyes. "I don't want to forget it, Tyler. I liked it, and it's all I thought about all day."

Time slowed to a crawl while Tyler processed what he was hearing. "You what?"

"I liked it. I liked it a lot." Derek confessed. "I'm sorry – I know it meant nothing to you, but I had to come by and at least ask. I wanted to know for sure. I'll let you be now." He rose and made to leave, walking past Tyler with his head ducked down.

Tyler's reactions were much faster than Derek's, mercifully. He reached back and grabbed his friend by the arm, turning him back around to face him.

"Wait…Derek, I…" he bit his lip upon seeing the tears forming in Derek's eyes.

"It's ok, Ty. I guess I just got caught up too, and I thought maybe you – "

"Had feelings for you?" Tyler finished.

"Yeah…" Derek looked away, refusing to meet his gaze.

Tyler's heart beat like a war drum as he wrapped his arms around Derek's waist. "We've been friends for a long time now, Derek. What's it been, just about six years? And almost the entire time, I've been missing something in my life. Losing mom and dad not too long after Amy was born, trying to finish med school while raising her…it left a huge hole. I've tried to fill it up with a cheery outlook, but it's so hard sometimes."

"I can imagine…" Derek whispered, still not meeting Tyler's eyes.

"It took me awhile, but when you made it into Cadeceus, and we talked about life and death, I realized what I had been missing." He tilted Derek's chin up, forcing him to look at him finally. "Something precious."

Derek's breath hitched at the look in Tyler's eyes.

"I was missing you. And you, Derek Stiles, are my something precious." Tyler leaned down slightly, and once more captured Derek's lips.

Derek returned the kiss ardently, hands finding their way to Tyler's bare shoulders and gripping lightly, afraid to let him go.

"Ty…I love you." Derek whispered when they pulled apart.

"I love you, Derek. So much. And I want to hold onto you for the rest of my life. Will you let me?" the blonde stroked his cheek gently.

Derek smiled. "Only if you promise to come back to work tomorrow."

"Deal." Tyler grinned. Any further conversation was ceased as the kisses continued, hunger of a different kind stirring in their veins.

Both doctors had a feeling they would be calling in sick tomorrow.

* * *


End file.
